Variational principles with generalized distances and the modelization of organizational change

Truong Bao (1) , Phan Khanh (2) , Antoine Soubeyran (3)

1 Northern Michigan University
2 VNU-HCM - Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City / Đại học Quốc gia TP. Hồ Chí Minh
3 GREQAM - Groupement de Recherche en Économie Quantitative d'Aix-Marseille

This paper has a twofold focus. The mathematical aspect of the paper shows that new and existing quasimetric and weak r-distance versions of Ekeland’s variational principle are equivalent in the sense that one implies the other, and so are their corresponding fixed-point results. The practical aspect of the paper, using a recent variational rationality approach of human behaviour, offers a model of organizational change, where generalized distances model inertia in terms of resistance to change. The formation and breaking of routines relative to hiring and firing workers will be used to illustrate the obtained results.

Mots clés: Ekeland’s variational principle; Caristi’s fixed-point theorem; quasimetric; w-distance; r-distance; variational rationality

Domaines: Economies et finances; Sciences de l'Homme et Société; Mathématiques [math]

Truong Bao, Phan Khanh, Antoine Soubeyran. Variational principles with generalized distances and the modelization of organizational change. Optimization, 2016, 65 (12), pp.2049 - 2066. ⟨10.1080/02331934.2016.1228062⟩. ⟨hal-01690191⟩